Comixology Originals, Amazon’s digital-first original comics publishing platform, has reached an agreement with Dark Horse Comics to publish and distribute print editions of four new Comixology Original graphic novels. The four titles will be released in Spring 2021.
Dark Horse will oversee the production of the four paperback releases which will be distributed to the book trade via Penguin Random House Publisher Services, and to the comics shop market via Diamond Comics Distributors. The books can also be purchased in digital editions via Comixology, Amazon’s digital comics marketplace, and they are available via Comixology Unlimited, Amazon’s comics subscription service, Amazon Prime, and Kindle Unlimited.
The forthcoming titles include Afterlift by Chiup Zdarsky and Jason Loo, an Eisner award-winning full-color graphic novel about a ride-sharing app that takes a driver and her passenger straight to Hell; Breaklands Vol. 1 by Justin Jordan and Tyasseta is a post-apocalyptic tale about a world 150 years in the future where everyone has superpowers except a solitary teenager who has been forced into hiding; Youth Vol. 1 by Curt Pires and Alex Diotto, the story of Franklin and River a queer couple who hit the road to escape their bigoted Midwestern town and eventually connect with a group of similar young people just before their lives change dramatically; and The Black Ghost Vol. 1 by Alex Sequra, Monica Gallagher and George Kambadais, the tale of a troubled journalist and her efforts to uncover the identity of a masked vigilante operating in a corrupt city.
Dark Horse president and publisher Mike Richardson said, “Comixology’s line of creator-owned comics sits perfectly alongside the acclaimed creator-owned graphic novels that are the bedrock of Dark Horse Comics.”
Under the direction of head of content Chip Mosher, the Comixology Originals line of original graphic novels was launched in 2017 with the Eisner-award-winning graphic novel Harvey Kurtzman’s Marley’s Ghost and other works. CO has released some titles in print on demand editions in the past.
Comixology cofounder and CEO David Steinberger said the digital platform has been looking to get print editions of Comixology Original books “into readers’ hands via comics retailers and bookstores, and Dark Horse is a terrific collaborator. This deal fortifies the ability of these stories to reach customers like never before.”
